Nutrition Basics

Front 1

Antioxidant

Back 1

A substance that can lessen the breakdown of food or body constituents by free radicals; actions include binding oxygen, donating electrons to free radicals, and repairing damage to molecules.

Front 2

Free Radical

Back 2

An electron-seeking compound that can react with fats, proteins, and DNA, damaging cell membranes and mutating genes in its search for electrons; produced through chemical reactions in the body and by exposure to environmental factors such as sunlight and tobacco smoke.

Front 3

Nutrient Density

Back 3

First, nutrient density is defined as a ratio of nutrient content (in grams) to the total energy content (in kilocalories or joules). Nutrient-dense food is opposite to energy-dense food (also called "empty calorie" food). According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005, nutrient-dense foods are those foods that provide substantial amounts of vitamins and minerals and relatively few calories. For example, fruit and vegetables are considered nutrient-dense food, while products containing added sugars, saturated fats, and alcohol are considered nutrient-poor food.
Second, nutrient density is defined as a ratio of food orangi from carbohydrate, protein or fat to the total food energy. To calculate nutrient density (in percent), divide the number of calories or joules from one particular nutrient by the total number of calories or joules in the given food and then multiply this by 100.
Third, nutrient density is understood as the ratio of the nutrient composition of a given food to the nutrient requirements of the human body. Therefore, a nutrient-dense food is the food that delivers a complete nutritional package.

Front 4

Essential Nutrients

Back 4

An essential nutrient is a nutrient required for normal body functioning that cannot be synthesized by the body and must be obtained from a dietary source. Some categories of essential nutrient include vitamins, dietary minerals, essential fatty acids, and essential amino acids.
Different species have very different essential nutrients. Most essential nutrients are substances that are metabolically necessary but cannot be synthesized by the organism. Dietary minerals, for example, cannot be synthesized in biological systems, so (for example) a human must obtain the iron they need to build hemoglobin from their diet. Of course, this iron is recycled, but some is inevitably lost, for example during menstruation.
Many essential nutrients are toxic in large doses (see hypervitaminosis or the nutrient pages themselves below). Some can be taken in amounts larger than required in a typical diet, with no apparent ill effects. Linus Pauling said of vitamin B3, (either niacin or niacinamide), "What astonished me was the very low toxicity of a substance that has such very great physiological power. A little pinch, 5 mg, every day, is enough to keep a person from dying of pellagra, but it is so lacking in toxicity that ten thousand times as much can [sometimes] be taken without harm." [1] A similar statement can be made about vitamin C and some other vitamins.

Front 5

Phytochemical

Back 5

A naturally occurring substance found in plant foods that may help prevent and treat chronic diseases like cancer and heart disease; phyto means plant

Front 6

Dietary Supplement

Back 6

A dietary supplement (also known as food supplement) is a preparation intended to supply nutrients, (such as vitamins, minerals, fatty acids or amino acids) that are missing or not consumed in sufficient quantity in a person's diet. Some countries define dietary supplements as foods, while in others they are defined as drugs. In the United States, the definition of dietary supplements includes non-medicinal herbal supplements and hormones, such as DHEA, pregnenolone (both steroids) and melatonin. Supplements containing vitamins or dietary minerals are recognised by the Codex Alimentarius Commission (the United Nations' highest authority on food standards) as a category of food.

Front 7

Amino Acid

Back 7

The building blocks of proteins. Twenty common ones are found in food; 9 are essential and the other eleven can be produced by the body given the presence of the needed components supplied by food.

Front 8

MyPyramid

Back 8

A food-group plan that provides practical advice to ensure a balance intake of the essential nutrients.

Front 9

Physical Fitness

Back 9

A set of physical attributes that allows the body to respond or adapt to the demands and stress of physical effort

Front 10

Aerobic Exercise

Back 10

Aerobic exercise refers to exercise that involves or improves oxygen consumption by the body.[1] Aerobic means "with oxygen", and refers to the use of oxygen in the body's metabolic[2] or energy-generating process. Many types of exercise are aerobic, and by definition are performed at moderate levels of intensity for extended periods of time. To obtain the best results, an aerobic exercise session involves a warming up period, followed by at least 20 minutes of moderate to intense exercise involving large muscle groups, and a cooling down period at the end.

Front 11

Target Heart Rate Range

Back 11

The range of heart rates at which exercise yields cardiorespiratory benefits

Front 12

Resistance Exercise

Back 12

Exercise that forces muscles to contract against increased resistance; also called strength training. Resistance can be provided by weights, exercise machines, or your own body weight.

Front 13

Overload Principle

Back 13

Increases in muscle tension, causing overload and adaptation to new levels of strength.

Front 14

Essential Fat

Back 14

The Fat in the body necessary for normal body functioning. Incorporated in the nerves, brain, heart, lungs, liver, and mammary glands. Make up appro. 3-5% of total body weight in men and 8-12% in women.

Front 15

Nonessential Fat

Back 15

Extra fat in the body necessary for normal body functioning. Exist primarily within fat cells, or adipose tissue, often located just below the skin and around major organs.

Front 16

Overweight

Back 16

Body weight that falls above the range associated with minimum mortality.

Front 17

Obesity

Back 17

The condition of having an excess of nonessential body fat; having a body mass index of 30 or greater or having a percent body fat greater than about 24% for men and 38% for women.

Front 18

Body Mass Index

Back 18

A measure of relative body weight that takes height into account and is highly correlated with more direct measures of body fat; calculated by dividing total body weight (in kilograms) by the square of height (in meters).

Front 19

Body Image

Back 19

The mental representation a person holds about his or her body at any given moment in time, consisting of perceptions, images, thoughts, attitudes, and emotions about the body.

Front 20

Resting Metabolic Rate

Back 20

The energy required to maintain vital body functions, including respiration, heart rate, body temperature, and blood pressure, while the body is at rest.